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Chapter 3

Later that day, Applejack stood behind a tree as she watched Twilight, or rather the Applejack version of Twilight, finish gathering the apples from the nearby apple tree. As for Applejack herself, she was unrecognizable as her usual cowpony self. The paint job and mane-restyling she got at the spa made her look fairly convincingly like Twilight. She was even wearing a prosthetic horn that Aloe and Lotus had from last Nightmare Night. The only thing that was missing was the cutie mark. It would have taken too much time to sketch Twilight's cutie mark on her flank. So instead, she chose to leave the area around her cutie mark unpainted, choosing instead to hide her flank by wearing a sweater that covered her entire torso, including her unpainted flank. She watched the purple Applejack alongside her younger sister who tagged along from the spa.

"You sure this is gonna work, Applejack?" Apple Bloom whispered.

"Not really," Applejack whispered back, "But look! Twilight's cutie mark is still the same. Ah think the real Twilight is in there somewhere. Ah just have to fish it out of her."

"But what about your eyes?" Apple Bloom pointed out. "She's gonna notice that they're green!"

Applejack shrugged. "Ah'm gonna chance it. Besides, she thinks she's the same color as me, and she didn't notice everypony else's eyes were different, so maybe she won't notice mine."

Apple Bloom nodded. "All right! Ah'll meet you back at the spa. Good luck, sis!"

"Don't forget to get the stuff Ah told ya about, Apple Bloom."

"Ah won't!"

Apple Bloom ran off, leaving Applejack alone. It was now time to put her crazy idea into action. With a heavy sigh, she emerged from behind the tree and approached the Twilight-Applejack, or Twijack as Applejack had labeled her in her head. She cleared her throat and called out, doing her best impersonation of Twilight's voice.

"Howdy Twi…" Applejack quickly caught herself. "Erm, I mean… Hi Applejack! How are you doing?"

Twijack turned to see that, at long last, her purple unicorn friend had appeared from wherever it was she was these past few days. "Twilight? Where in tarnation have you been? We’ve been looking all over for you!"

Applejack smiled nervously. "Well... You see… I’ve been kind of…"

"Hey Twi? Your voice sounds a bit funny." Twijack told Applejack. "Are you sure you’re all right?"

"Mah voice?" Applejack caught herself. "Oh, YES! My voice! I was just getting over a cold!" She faked a cough to prove her point.

"Well that explains where you’ve been. Anyway, Ah need your help, Twi! There are impostors of me running all over the place!"

"Hmm, that does sound like it could be a problem."

"Yer darn tootin it's a problem! They keep showing up claiming they’re me. Ah don’t know what to do!"

"I need to look this up. Let's go back to the library! Come on, Applejack!"

So Applejack and Twilight, or rather Applejack-dressed-as-Twilight and Twilight-who-thought-she-was-Applejack, both made their way through town towards the library. A few passerby ponies did a double take at the sight of two purple ponies running down the street. Eventually, the two made it into the library. Applejack smiled. She got Twilight back home. Now she hoped the familiar sight of her books would be enough to snap her out of it.

"All right, now that we’re here, where should we start, Twi?" Twijack asked Applejack.

Applejack's smile quickly faded. She was not ready to improvise as her eggheaded friend. "Well… we should… um… erm…" she stammered.

Twijack frowned. "C’mon, Twi! You’re the brains! Ah really need your help!"

Applejack began to sweat under Twijack's glare. Horseapples! She's gonna figure out that Ah'm a fake!

Fortunately, salvation came for the disguised Applejack at that moment as Spike opened the door, carrying a whole handful of gems that went up and covered his face. Applejack was surprised and relieved that the baby dragon had returned. Hopefully, this would be the turning point to get Twilight acting like her old self again.

"Hey Twilight, I'm back! Sorry it took so long!" Spike said, being careful not to spill his gen haul all over the floor. With a little effort, he managed to set the gems down on the floor. Now able to see, Spike finally noticed that there were two Twilight Sparkles in the library, and one of the Twilights was dressed up like Applejack for some reason.

"Uh… Did I miss something?" the confused baby dragon asked.

Twijack began to explain. "Well Spike, Twilight here is just helping me with a bit of a problem on the farm."

"Yes, I am!" Applejack said in her best Twilight voice. "Hey Applejack? Could you do me a huge favor and get my… um… my dictionary?"

Twijack chuckled. "You unicorns sure do like all them fancy words."

As Twijack went over to the bookshelf, Applejack leaned over to Spike's ear. "Spike, it’s me. Ah’m the real Applejack," she whispered.

"Wait. You're Applejack?" Spike asked in bewilderment. Applejack lifted her sweater a bit to reveal to Spike her unpainted flank and her cutie mark. She also lifted her fake horn for added measure. Spike was convinced.

"But if you're really Applejack, then who is..."

"That's actually Twilight," she explained. "Long story short, Twilight thinks she’s me, and Ah’m trying to snap her out of it. Ah think Ah might need your help, though."

"What can I do?"

Applejack shrugged. "Ah dunno, do something that'll grab her attention! Ya know, like a shock?"

Spike pondered for a quick moment before an idea popped in his head. "I've got just the thing!"

Without anymore words, Spike quickly went up the library stairs to where Twilight's bedroom was. Applejack wondered for a moment what the baby dragon was up to.

"Twilight?" Twijack shouted out, snapping AJ out of her train of thoughts, "Where do ya keep that dictionary? Ah can’t find it!"

Applejack cleared her throat and continued her Twilight imitation. "Never mind Twi… er… Applejack. I don’t need it."

Twijack dropped her search and rejoined Applejack in the middle of the room. "All right then. So have you found anything about these imposters yet?"

Applejack shook her head. "Nothing yet."

Twijack groaned. "Consarnit all!!! There just has to be an answer for this somewhere!"

"Don’t worry, AJ. I’m sure we’ll find something…"

Suddenly, the two ponies heard loud crashing noises coming from upstairs. They quickly ran up the stairs to investigate where the noise was coming from. The two made it up the stairs and to the bedroom to find the noise was coming from Spike. He had knocked over the bookshelf that was nearest to Twilight's bed. He also had a freshly-opened garbage bag, which he was stuffing with the toppled books. Applejack and Twijack stood frozen as they watched Spike nonchalantly throwing the books away.

"Spike?!? What the hay are ya doin’?" Twijack shouted.

"I’m just throwing away Twilight’s personal favorite book collection to make room for my new Rarity shrine." Spike calmly explained.

Twijack's pupils shrunk. "Twilight's... favorite... books?"

Applejack dropped her Twilight act and pulled the dragon aside. "Spike, stop it! You’re taking this too far!"

"Hey, you said Twilight needed a shock!" Spike pointed out.

"Ah meant something that would grab her attention!" Applejack clarified. "Ah didn’t mean for you to do something this dadgum crazy!!!"

While Spike and Applejack argued, Twijack looked at the book pile in stunned disbelief.

"Ah can't believe it..." she muttered to herself again and again.

The situation was very unbelievable the more she thought about it. These were Twilight's favorite books! She easily guessed that these were very important to her. In fact, they were important! These books on that bookcase were not just her favorites, but it was also the books she was currently reading and researching. It's where she kept her most important and most personal books.

And Spike just threw it all away!

"Spike, how could you?" she muttered repeatedly. Her eye twitched as her face started to twist in anger. Her mutterings became loud enough that Applejack and Spike stopped arguing.

"Spike, how could you?" she growled.

Applejack slowly approached her. "Applejack? You ok?"

Spike and Applejack were astonished to see Twilight's freckles magically vanished off her face.

"SPIKE!!! HOW COULD YOU!?!" Twilight exploded in rage, sending Spike to hide under the bed from the purple unicorn.

"I spent years organizing that bookshelf!" Twilight ranted. "Do you know how long it's going to take to get everything back to the way it was? I can't believe you did something this careless!!!"

"I think she's back to normal, AJ!" Spike shouted from under the bed.

"Twilight? Is that really you?" Applejack asked.

Twilight reacted to Applejack's voice. "Of course it's me, Applejack! Who else would I..." Any other words were taken right out of Twilight's mouth when she noticed another her standing right beside her. However, this Twilight had green eyes instead of her normal purple color.

"Applejack?" Twilight asked in disbelief.

Applejack sheepishly wiped some of the paint away from her face, revealing her regular orange coat. "Eeyup, that's me," she smiled nervously.

An awkward silence hung over the two ponies that seemed to have lasted a few hours.

"Nice hairstyle." Twilight finally spoke out.

"Thanks, Twi."

"So Applejack?" Twilight asked as innocently as possible, "Mind explaining why you're dressed up as me?"

"You might want to take a look at yourself in the mirror, sugarcube," Applejack suggested.

Taking Applejack's advice, Twilight went over to her stand-up mirror to get a good look at herself. She finally noticed the cowboy hat she was wearing, and the ponytail her mane and tail was made up into. Twilight stared into the mirror, stunned into silence.

"Don’t ask how it happened, but you just spent the past few days thinking you were me," Applejack explained.

"I did?" Twilight asked. She was confused until she started to remember the events of a few days ago. "Oh. I did," she realized. "I remembered what happened that morning. All of a sudden, I couldn't do magic. Then I started talking like you. And the next thing I know, I look like this!" She took off her hat and lifted it in the air to emphasize her point.

Spike emerged from under the bed. "But you're over it now, right Twilight?"

"Let's see." Twilight closed her eyes and focused. "My name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm... I'm from Canterlot! I'm Princess Celestia's most prized student! I am the bearer of the Element of Magic!" Satisfied, she opened her eyes again, getting another look at herself in the mirror. "And I really need a brush in the worst way possible right now!"

Twilight found her brush on her night table. With little effort, she summoned a levitation spell. "My magic's back!!!" Twilight smile grew wider as she began to brush her mane back to normal.

Applejack was smiling too. "So this really did work! Ah’ve got to get the others back too!"

"Wait, you mean we all were acting like you, too?" Twilight asked.

Applejack sighed and nodded. "That's something Ah'd rather not go through again." She shuddered at the memory of her five friends acting like her. "Hey Twi? Ah could use your help to get everypony back to normal."

Twilight smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, AJ. I’d love to help, but a certain dragon and I have a bookshelf to reorganize. Don't we, Spike?" She shot a menacing glare over to the small assistant.

"Eek! Yes ma’am!" Standing at attention, Spike gave Twilight a salute.

Applejack chuckled. Twilight was back, all right! After a farewell hug, Applejack made her way out of the library with a smile a mile wide. She got her friend back! And now it was time to get the others back too.

"One down, four to go!" Applejack made her way back to spa to get the rest of the paint off her and put on her next disguise. On her way, she passed by the flower shop. The bunnies which she saw earlier were still running amok in the flowers. Applejack sighed. She knew who she had to target next.

~~~~~

It had been a very hard day of work for the Applejack who, to the rest of the world, looked like Fluttershy. She was resting underneath an apple tree, enjoying a well earned break. Unbeknownst to her, the real Applejack was watching her from afar. Applejack looked herself over. She had herself painted in Fluttershy's color scheme, pink mane and yellow coat. Her mane and tail were not as long as Fluttershy's, but Aloe and Lotus still managed to pull off getting her mane to look like Fluttershy, only with a shorter mane. Also problematic was Applejack's lack of wings. She hoped the full body sweater she was wearing, which covered much of her body except her head and her legs, would be enough to hide the fact that she wasn't really a pegasus. It wasn't the world's greatest Fluttershy disguise, but if Applejack was successful in making the Twijack believe she was Twilight, then she was fairly certain that she could convince Flutterjack that she was Fluttershy.

Applejack took a deep breath. Being the soft and gentle Fluttershy would be a challenge for the normally rough and tumble Applejack. But if it meant getting her friend back, then she was ready to go through it. With that in mind, she approached the resting Flutterjack.

"Um... Excuse me? Applejack?" she called out in her best Fluttershy voice.

Flutterjack lifted her hat to see and saw a familiar yellow form approach her. "Fluttershy! Ah haven’t seen ya in a while! How ya doin’ sugarcube?"

"I’m fine," Applejack whispered quietly, trying to emulate the pegasus' shy demeanor.

"Beg pardon?" Flutterjack asked. Apparently Applejack emulated Fluttershy a bit too well back there.

"I said I’m fine!" Applejack shouted in a very unFluttershy-like way. Flutterjack had to regain her bearings after hearing such a loud shout from the yellow pony.

"Dang, Fluttershy! You taking those cheering lessons again?"

Applejack mentally scolded herself for acting out-of-character as Fluttershy for the moment. This was going to be tougher than she thought. "Well, I'm trying. I’m sorry if I surprised you."

"Nah, don’t apologize, ‘Shy. You’re trying yer best. And honestly, it sounded real good that time!"

"Oh, thank you, Applejack! Trust me, I'm trying as hard as I can."

"Anyway, what brings you over today?"

"Well, you see," Applejack began, "I've been sick lately so I wasn’t able to take care of my animal friends."

"So that’s where you were! Your voice does sound a bit different today."

"Yeah…" Applejack cleared her throat. "Anyway I’m trying to gather all my animal friends that got loose while I was away."

Flutterjack smiled. "Say no more! Ah’ll get mah rope and we’ll lasso them critters before they knew what hit ‘em!"

"Applejack, no! You’ll scare them!"

"Well maybe a good scare is exactly what them critters need," Flutterjack argued. "Show them who’s boss, ya know?"

"But um… what about kindness?"

Flutterjack decided to humor her. "All right. What about kindness?"

Applejack stammered. She was unprepared to be put on the spot like this. "Well, um… it’s… I mean it's... kind?" She attempted to squee a sheepish smile. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like it was convincing enough as Flutterjack frowned an unsatisfied frown.

"Sorry, Fluttershy. But you're gonna have to come up with something better than that."

She's right. Applejack thought. Ah can't convince her on something weak like that. Applejack's expression dropped as a feeling of sadness overtook her. She wouldn't be able to get Fluttershy back at this rate. She might never get her other friends back too at this rate. She couldn't help but let her eyes water at her looming failure. Flutterjack's expression softened as she saw Applejack's eyes water.

"You ok, hon?"

"Ah… Ah don’t know." Applejack admitted in a small voice. Her impression was gone, but Flutterjack didn't seem to notice. "Ah’m really trying as hard as Ah can but... Ah just can’t..."

Flutterjack smiled. "It’s ok, Fluttershy. You’re trying your best. That’s all you can do, and it honestly takes a lot of guts to challenge yerself like that."

Applejack let out a small laugh. "Heh, tell me about it."

Flutterjack put a hoof over Applejack's shoulder. "Ah’ll tell you what, Fluttershy. If it makes you feel better, we’ll try it your way. All right, sugarcube?"

Applejack perked right back up. "You will? Oh thanks Flut… I mean, thanks Applejack!" she corrected herself in her Fluttershy impression once again.

Applejack led Flutterjack off of the farm and into town, where the bunnies were starting to make themselves home at the flower shop. At first, Flutterjack instinctively reached for her lasso to corral the critters. However, Applejack held her back.

"No, you have to be kind to them!" Applejack reminded her.

"All right," Flutterjack reluctantly agreed. She put her lasso down and slowly approached the store, which made the rabbits scurry to their hiding places in fear. "Fluttershy, they're scared of me!"

"Show them that you won't hurt them," Applejack suggested. "Go ahead, it's ok."

"If ya say so." Flutterjack turned her attention back to the rabbits. She could see the poor animals shaking in fear. Flutterjack held out her hoof and smiled. "It's ok. Ah ain't gonna hurt ya." she told them. One of the rabbits tentatively reached out for her hoof. She did her best not to flinch as the rabbit carefully touch her hoof. It was working! This one rabbit, as well as the others, stopped being afraid of her and started nuzzling her leg. She used her other front hoof to carefully pick up the rabbit.

"Well, what do ya know? It worked!" Flutterjack remarked. "Ah guess a little kindness goes a long way!"

"And how does it make you feel?" Applejack asked.

Flutterjack felt a warm feeling well up inside her. Being kind like this felt wonderful. She was so used to rounding up critters that she never really took the time to care for them like Fluttershy did. She made it a point to treat her own animals better at the farm.

This really does feel nice, she thought. In fact, feeling like this, Ah could care for... all the.... animals.

Flutterjack began feeling light-headed. "I feel... dizzy...." She lost her balance and landed softly to her side. As Applejack approached the fainted Flutterjack, she noticed her freckles had vanished. Applejack gulped. If this was like what happened with Twilight, then she wasn't dealing with Flutterjack anymore. She was dealing with Fluttershy!

"Are you all right?" Applejack asked her.

Fluttershy looked around in confusion. Any trace of AJ's accent was gone from her voice. "What... happened? Where am I?" She then took notice of Applejack's disguise. She shrunk down to the ground in fear. "Oh my! You're not an evil twin of mine, are you?"

Applejack laughed. "Don't worry, sugarcube! It's only me!" She wiped off some of the paint from her face, revealing part of her orange coat.

Fluttershy rubber her eyes in surprise. "Applejack? But why do you look like..."

"Ah’ll explain everything later, Fluttershy. But for now, can you round up all these critters here?"

Fluttershy was still hopelessly confused. The last thing she remembered was she was starting to feel more confident, like Applejack was, that particular morning. Beyond that, it was all a blur. However, that wasn't important now. She took a look at all the misplaced bunnies and decided to take care of them first.

Fluttershy smiled. "Ok. I’ll do my best!"

Before heading back to the spa, Applejack gave Fluttershy a hug. "Welcome back, Fluttershy!"

"It's... uh... good to be back..." Fluttershy replied. She decided to ask questions later. Right now, there were a lot of bunnies that needed to be helped right now.

While Fluttershy handled the loose rabbits, Applejack quickly made her way back to the spa. The plan was working! It worked with Twilight, and it worked with Fluttershy. So she was confident that it would work with the remaining three. Once she entered the spa, she quickly got out of her sweater and jumped into the pool, letting the warm waters wash the paint off her. She allowed herself a moment to relax before she was ready for the next part of the plan.

As Applejack continued to wind down, Aloe and Lotus entered the room, accompanied by Apple Bloom who was carrying a duffle bag with her. Applejack got out of the bath to great them.

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom called out. "How did it go?"

"Twilight and Fluttershy are back to normal!" Applejack happily reported.

Apple Bloom gasped. "So it is working!"

"Eeyup!" Applejack nodded. "Now did ya get the stuff from Scootaloo?"

Apple Bloom reached into the duffle bag and pulled out a rainbow-colored wig and a Wonderbolt-themed jumpsuit.

"Here ya go, AJ! Scootaloo even threw in the wig for ya!"

"Perfect! This way Ah won't have to paint mah mane this time!"

"That's good, because were starting to run low on paint," Lotus informed the two. "But we should have enough for your tail and your coat, Applejack."

"Well let's not waste any time then!" Applejack shouted. "Let's get to it!"

Aloe and Lotus went back to get the blue paint ready, with Applejack and Apple Bloom following behind them.

"Hey, Applejack?" Apple Bloom asked. "Are ya sure you won’t have a problem with Rainbow?"

Applejack smirked. She then proceeded to perfectly imitate Rainbow Dash's voice. "Trust me, kid. This one’s gonna be a piece of cake!"

~~~~~

Applejack looked on as Rainbow-jack was bucking a tree around the far reaches of Sweet Apple Acres. She snickered. She was looking forward for this one. While trying to imitate Twilight or Fluttershy was a bit of a challenge for her, Applejack was more than confident that she would have no problem imitating Rainbow Dash. The two have spent way too much time together as rivals, training partners, and all around good friends that Applejack felt like she knew the pegasus inside and out. And at the moment, she was that pegasus, minus the wings of course. The Wonderbolt jumpsuit would hide her non-wings from Rainbow-jack. And while her tail and exposed parts of her body were painted, she made sure her Rainbow Dash wig was on correctly if she wanted this plan to succeed. Satisfied with her disguise, Applejack put her small mirror away and approached Rainbow-jack.

"Hey Applejack!" she called out. She had no problem getting this voice right.

Rainbow-jack turned around and saw the unmistakable multicolored mane and tail that belonged to her best friend. She frowned. "And just where have you been, Rainbow?" she asked her. "Ah’ve noticed that you haven’t been clearing the skies lately."

"I was practicing," Applejack shrugged.

"For three days?!?"

"Hey! I wanted to make sure I was 120% ready!"

"Ready for what?"

Applejack got into Rainbow's face with a confident grin. "You. Me. Race. Now."

Rainbow-jack was more than a bit annoyed by that offer. She turned her back to Applejack. "Some other time, RD. Ah’m kinda busy right now."

"Come on, AJ! I won’t even fly this time."

Rainbow-jack rolled her eyes. "Sure you won’t."

"I promise! Don’t you trust me?"

She didn't get a verbal response. Instead, Rainbow-jack shot an annoyed, deadpan glance over to Applejack in response. "Eh heh heh… forget I asked." she sheepishly smiled.

Rainbow-jack continued back to the tree. "Forget it, Rainbow! Now if ya don't mind, Ah’ve got work to do."

Applejack expected this response. After all, she must have had an argument like this with Rainbow Dash dozens of times by now, so she knew the next step that needed to be taken. "What’s the matter, Applejack? Chicken?"

Rainbow-jack stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"

"Hey, I understand if you don’t want to be embarrassed because I beat you by a landslide in a hoof race," Applejack continued on. "So I’ll just accept your forfeit right now as final proof of my awesomeness. Ha! I’m so good that I made an earth pony scared to race me!"

As Applejack continued to gloat, she noticed Rainbow-jack's face getting more annoyed by the second. She knew that a simple challenge from Rainbow Dash wouldn't be enough to get on her nerves. In fact, she honestly didn't care if Rainbow Dash beat her in a race. Instead, what Applejack couldn't stand was the fact that Rainbow Dash would never shut up about it. And it was that thought that made Rainbow-jack respond.

"All right, ya bucket of feathers! Yer on!!! But no dirty tricks this time, ya hear?" she shouted.

"Well in that case, may the best pony win!" Applejack suddenly began laughing. "Ha ha! I just called myself best pony! I crack myself up!"

"We’ll see whose laughing after Ah win!" Rainbow-jack shouted angrily. She straightened her hat and got herself ready to race.

Applejack watched Rainbow-jack storm away and giggled to herself. "Ah'll never admit this to her, but this is way too much fun!"

Moments later, Applejack and Rainbow-jack got themselves ready for a one-on-one hoof race. The stood side-by-side in front of a makeshift starting line that Rainbow drew in the dirt.

"First one to the barn wins," Rainbow-jack instructed.

"Got it!"

The two lowered themselves into a crouch.

"On yer mark..."

"GETSETGO!!!" Rainbow-jack was bewildered as Applejack started galloping at full speed, leaving her in the dust.

"HEY!!!" Rainbow-jack launched herself into a full gallop, trying desperately to catch up. "Ah thought ya said no dirty tricks!!!"

"Sorry! I had my wings crossed!!!" Applejack teased. Of course Applejack didn't have any wings, but Rainbow-jack couldn't tell.

Rainbow-jack growled. "Why you dirty little... YER GOING DOWN!!!"

"You gotta catch me, first!"

The race continued through the farm. Rainbow-jack tried her best to make up the lost ground, but she simply couldn't catch up. She wasn't ready to give up, however. She wasn't going to let that cheater get away with what she did.

"Ah can’t let her win," she huffed. "Ah'll never hear the end of it if she does. She's not getting away with this."

Suddenly, Rainbow-jack felt a strange twitch on her back. Feathers started to slowly peak out from her sides. She never noticed this though. The only thing on her mind was that pony ahead of her.

"Ah've got to catch her!"

Her wings unfurled. She started to feel lighter. She started to feel faster. Fast enough to catch up with that pony.

"Ah've got to beat her!"

Her freckles faded away. She flapped her wings in anticipation.

"I'VE GOT TO WIN!!!"

With that, Rainbow Dash took off in the air. Flying at full speed, she quickly caught up with and overtook Applejack. The earth pony slowed herself down to a stop as a rainbow-colored streak flew past her.

"She's back!" she smiled. Not bothering with the race anymore, Applejack trotted down the way to catch up with Rainbow.

Up ahead, Rainbow Dash easily made it to the barn first, winning the race. "Aw yeah!!! Score one for team Dash!" she cheered. She whooped it up for a moment in celebration, doing a robot-themed victory dance. She then took pretend bows as if there was a crowd of fans surrounding her. "Thank you! Thank you! You’re too kind. Sorry, no autographs today!" Rainbow Dash stopped for a second when she saw what looked like another Rainbow Dash approaching the barn to.

"Whoa! I’m so awesome that I just beat myself!" she observed in awe.

Applejack chuckled. "Glad to see yer back to normal, RD!" She took off her wig, revealing her unbounded blonde mane.

Rainbow's jaw dropped. "Applejack?!?" She started to snicker and then, she doubled over on the ground in laughter. "Oh, brother! This is too rich! You look ridiculous, AJ!"

Applejack smirked. "Ya know, Ah was just about to say the same thing." She took out her mirror and showed it to Rainbow. The pegasus' laughing died quickly as she took a good look at herself, cowboy hat, ponytail and all.

"Uh…" That was the only sound Rainbow Dash could make in response to seeing herself like that. Eventually, she managed to ask Applejack a question. "I was acting like you back there, wasn't I?"

"Don’t worry, Rainbow," Applejack smiled. "If anypony ever asks me, none of this ever happened. Deal?"

"Deal!" Rainbow shouted out, relieved that her reputation wouldn't take a hit from this. She took off the hat and undid her ponytail. She then took a good look at the now-mostly cloudy sky.

"Looks like I've got some clouds I need to clear up."

"What's the matter?" Applejack smirked, once again imitating Rainbow's voice again. "I thought you'd be up for a little rematch!"

Hearing her own voice mock her was something rather off-putting for Rainbow Dash. "For the record, that impression was a bit too good, Applejack."

"It's only because we've spent way too much time together," Applejack noted in her regular voice.

Rainbow Dash laughed. "Yeah we have. By the way, you're on for that rematch!"

"Ah'll be waiting!"

With a final wave, Rainbow Dash took to the sky to begin clearing the clouds away. Applejack watched her fly away for a moment before she started back to the spa. She was feeling ecstatic! She got Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash to snap out of whatever it was they were under. Now there was only two more to go, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Unfortunately for Applejack, the last two were also presented the biggest challenge. Rarity and her didn't always see eye to eye on many things due to their vastly different, and completely incompatible lifestyles. Indeed, the one time she tried to act like a proper city pony, she couldn't have run back to Sweet Apple Acres fast enough. So for Applejack, acting like Rarity would be her most difficult task. Which was why she decided to try to get Pinkie Pie first. However, this posed an different, yet equally frustrating issue. Pinkie Pie was too energetic and too unpredictable for Applejack, or anypony else for that matter, to hope to emulate accurately. As Applejack walked away from the barn, she began to think if it was possible for anypony to act like Pinkie Pie.

Applejack's timing couldn't have been worse at that time as Pinkie-jack emerged from the entrance of the apple cellar and noticed her. Applejack started to panic. Here she was in plain sight, still painted blue with a rainbow tail but her untied mane was blonde. She scrambled to find her wig, but couldn't. She couldn't pass herself off as Rainbow Dash without the wig. It was too late for disguises now, though, so she was stuck. As Pinkie-jack got closer, Applejack sat on her haunches, trying her best to hide her painted tail, trying desperately to pass herself off as an anonymous pony.

"Howdy there!" Pinkie-jack greeted. "Say, Ah haven’t seen you around Ponyville before."

Applejack stammered for a second before she faked a generic accent. "Well, you see… I’m new to Ponyville and I was just looking around."

Pinkie-jack smiled. "Well it sure is nice to welcome... a... new pony... to… Ponyville…." Pinkie-jack trailed off as if she was suddenly induced in a trance.

Curious and confused, Applejack carefully approached the frozen pony. "Are you all right, ma’am?" she asked.

"There's a new pony in Ponyville..."

Pinkie-jack's eyes slowly grew wide in joy as the words sunk in. To Applejack's surprise, Pinkie's freckles faded away.

"THERE'S A NEW PONY IN PONYVILLE!!!" With one big poof, Pinkie's hat and ponytail came undone and reverted back to it's normal state. Applejack was surprised again when a happy tune started to play out of nowhere. Pinkie started to dance around and sing.

"Welcome welcome welcome!
A fine welcome to you!
Welcome welcome welcome,
I say how do you do?
Welcome welcome welcome,
I say hip hip hooray!
Welcome welcome welcome
To Ponyville today!!!"

Pinkie Pie finished her number in a flourish in front of Applejack.

"Wait for it..." Pinkie told her.

Applejack looked around in confusion. "Wait for what?"

Pinkie also looked around her and noticed a key piece of equipment was missing.

"Oh no! My welcome wagon!!!" She gasped. "I blew the whole song! Stay right there, new pony! I'll be right back!"

With that, Pinkie rushed off, leaving a stunned Applejack in the dust. A few seconds later, Pinkie dashed back to her.

"Actually, would you mind coming over to Sugarcube Corner instead? We're a tad bit busy at the moment. Thanks!"

Pinkie dashed off again. Rather than trying to figure how in Equestria that happened, Applejack simply shrugged.

"Meh. Ah’ll take it," she decided.

Applejack continued her way back to the spa, determined as ever. Four of her friends were back. But there was still one more to go. And she would need to give her all in order to pull this last one off.

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